Leopard seal

| fossil_range = Early Pliocene – Recent | image = Antarctic Sound-2016-Brown Bluff–Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) 04.jpg | image_caption = | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = | display_parents = 3 | genus = Hydrurga | parent_authority = Gistel, 1848 | species = leptonyx | authority = (Blainville, 1820) | range_map = Hydrurga leptonyx distribution.png | range_map_caption = ''Hydrurga leptonyx'' range map | synonyms = | synonyms_ref = }}

The leopard seal (''Hydrurga leptonyx''), also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after the southern elephant seal). It is a top order predator, feeding on a wide range of prey including cephalopods, other pinnipeds, krill, fish, and birds, particularly penguins, its only natural predator being the orca. It is the only species in the genus ''Hydrurga''. Its closest relatives are the Ross seal, the crabeater seal, and the Weddell seal, which are all Antarctic seals of the tribe Lobodontini. Provided by Wikipedia